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<p>This has been a very difficult time for students, and the government is working
with the higher education (HE) sector to make sure all reasonable efforts are being
made to enable students to continue their studies. We thank all HE staff for their
tireless work to ensure that young people do not have to put their lives or their
academic journeys on hold.</p><p>The government’s clear and stated expectation is
that universities should maintain the quality and quantity of tuition and should seek
to ensure that all students, regardless of their background, have the resources to
study remotely.</p><p>Universities are autonomous and responsible for setting their
own fees within maximum fee limits set by regulations. The government is committed
to a sustainable HE funding model that supports high quality provision, meets the
skills needs of the country and maintains the world-class reputation of UK HE. We
recognise that tuition fees must continue to represent value for money for students
and taxpayers, both during the COVID-19 outbreak and afterwards.</p><p>The government
has already announced that the maximum tuition fee cap will remain at £9,250 for the
2021/22 academic year, in respect of standard full-time courses at approved (fee cap)
HE providers. We also intend to freeze the maximum tuition fee caps for the 2022/23
academic year to deliver better value for students and to keep the cost of HE under
control (the fifth year in succession that maximum fees have been frozen). Our income-contingent
student loan system helps remove financial barriers to study and means that no eligible
student needs to pay tuition fees upfront.</p><p>The Office for Students, as the regulator
for HE providers in England, has made it clear that HE providers must continue to
comply with registration conditions relating to quality and academic standards. These
standards set out requirements to ensure that courses are high-quality, that all students
(both domestic and international) are supported and achieve good outcomes and that
standards are protected, regardless of whether a provider is delivering its courses
through face-to-face teaching, remote online learning or a combination of both.</p><p>Whether
or not an individual student is entitled to a refund will depend on the specific contractual
arrangements between the HE provider and student. If students have concerns, there
is a process in place. They should first raise their concerns with their university.
If their concerns remain unresolved, students at providers in England or Wales can
ask the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) for Higher Education to consider
their complaint, this is the case for both domestic and international students. The
OIA website is available at: <a href="https://www.oiahe.org.uk/" target="_blank">https://www.oiahe.org.uk/</a>.</p><p>The
OfS does not get involved in individual student complaints, as this is for the relevant
HE provider and possibly the OIA. Students can, however, notify the OfS of issues
that may be of regulatory interest to it. These are called ‘notifications’. The OfS
uses this information as part of its regulatory monitoring activity and keep higher
education providers under review to ensure that they comply with the ongoing conditions
of registration. The OfS has produced a guide for students to support them in this
process, which is available here: <a href="https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/office-for-students-notifications/"
target="_blank">https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/office-for-students-notifications/</a>.</p><p>The
government recognises that in these exceptional circumstances some students may face
financial hardship. The department has worked with the OfS to clarify that providers
are able to use existing funds, worth around £256 million for the academic year 2020/21,
towards hardship support. We have also made an additional £70 million of student hardship
funding available to HE providers this financial year. HE providers have flexibility
in how they distribute the funding to students, in a way that best prioritises those
in greatest need – this is available to all students.</p>
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